


Going for Gold

by Julieoftarth (Wherethereissmoak)



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Athletes, F/M, JB Appreciation Week, Olympics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 03:13:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12245847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wherethereissmoak/pseuds/Julieoftarth
Summary: Estranged best friends Jaime Lannister and Brienne Tarth reunite as athletes in the Olympic Games.





	Going for Gold

**Author's Note:**

> My second story for Jaime/Brienne Appreciation Week, today’s theme is “Gold.” This one’s a modern AU, and I should probably note that I know nothing about sports, lol. Enjoy!!

“Good God, you’re tall. Basketball - right?” 

Brienne rolled her eyes at the handsome man who sat next to her on the bus that was taking them from Athletes Village to the Opening Ceremonies. She looked around, there were plenty of open seats - so why did he choose to plop down next to her? 

“Jaime, you know very well that I play beach volleyball. What are you doing here?” 

Jaime Lannister had the nerve to look affronted. “You mean at the Olympics? I earned my place, same as anyone else. You know that.” 

Brienne sighed. Jaime had been one of the most arrogant fencers in the sport - and for some reason they had been friends. She, a rising star in the sport of beach volleyball. He, the holder of the most gold medals in fencing in history.

Four years ago, he had been injured and his fencing hand had been ruined beyond repair. He fell from grace as he drowned his sorrows in alcohol, until Brienne worked with his brother Tyrion to smack some sense into him and get him into rehab. 

She hadn’t heard from him since. It hurt, but Brienne understood that she was probably a reminder of the worst time in his life. 

“I know, Jaime. I’m glad you made it back to the Olympics. All that practice and regaining your skill with your left hand. It’s amazing. I meant, what are you doing here, sitting next to me on this bus?” 

Jaime studied her for a moment. He was usually so easy with his words, but she could tell he was carefully planning what to say. 

“Why wouldn’t I sit next to you? We’re friends...aren’t we?” 

Brienne scoffed. “Friends? We haven’t seen each other in years!” 

Jaime cringed at her words. “I know, and I’m so sorry. I just couldn’t see you...or anyone, until I was ready. Until I could do this again.” 

“You know that I would have been there for you, whether you came back to your sport or not.” On a whim, she reached out and grabbed the fingers of his injured hand. He stared down at their hands sadly. 

“I know, Brienne. I just couldn’t...and then when you didn’t respond to my letters...I figured you gave up on me. Gods, it gutted me more than I wanted to admit.” 

Brienne sat up in her seat. 

“Letters? I didn’t get any letters.” 

“You didn’t get my letters?” 

When she shook her head, Jaime cursed. “My godsdamn father, it has to be.” He took out his phone and shot off a series of angry texts. “I don’t know if I should be relieved or sad that you didn’t get the letters.” 

Brienne was intrigued now. “Why, what was in them?” 

Jaime looked uncharacteristically nervous. “It doesn’t matter now. Can we just go back to being friends again? You were my best friend before, and I could use a friend again.” 

Brienne studied him for a moment. She knew there was more to the story, more in those letters that she needed to know, but the start of the Olympic games was not the time to get into it, she supposed. 

“Please, wench. I’ve missed you,” Jaime said. 

Brienne tried to muster up a fake scowl because she hated that nickname, but truth be told it sounded so nice coming from his lips that it made her smile. 

“I’ve missed you too, Lannister. And my name is Brienne, not wench.” 

Jaime grinned. The tension he was holding in his shoulders eased. He leaned back in his chair. 

“So, do you think this is your year for gold? Always getting silver has to be getting to you by now. I know how competitive you are.” 

Brienne launched into a tangent about how her team had all the odds in their favor of taking home the gold this year. Jaime bantered and teased with her almost the whole way to the stadium that hosted the opening ceremonies. 

“I’m going to be there to see you win, I vow it,” Jaime said as the bus pulled into the parking lot. Tears pulled in Brienne’s eyes, so glad to have her friend back in her life. She didn’t really fit in with her teammates, and her father was too ill this year to make it to the games, so having someone in the stands would mean the world to her. 

“What about you? Carrying the country’s flag this year? What an honor! I’m so proud of you!” 

Jaime frowned a little at this. “I think it was a pity honor. After my injuries and the fact that this is my last Olympics.” 

Brienne stared at him in shock. “But, you just got back!” 

Jaime sighed. “Yeah, but you have no idea how hard it is for me to fence right now. Sure, I qualified, but medaling will be doubtful. I just wanted to compete one more time, to show that I could do it. I’m tired, Brienne, and I’m ready to just relax instead of constantly training.” 

Brienne nodded. The life of an athlete was hard on the mind and body, especially when considering all that Jaime had come back from. She was getting tired of the life too, but she was chasing gold, and she wouldn’t quit until she got it. “Does your father know?” 

Jaime grimaced. “Yeah, and he is not happy about it. The Lannister’s don’t lack for wealth, but my stack of gold medals put the family name in quite the favorable light. And he would like many more to add to that stack.” 

She gave him a smile in sympathy. They started getting off the bus, and Brienne tried to ignore the warm feeling of Jaime’s hand on the small of her back. Nope, there were not butterflies in her belly. She had just agreed to be his friend again, and this was not the time to rekindle those feelings that she had pushed aside and buried all those years ago. 

The opening ceremonies went off without a hitch, and Jaime was a hit carrying their flag. He of course insisted that Brienne walked next to him. 

Jaime was int he stands for all of her matches, and watched as her team demolished the competition, finally earning that gold medal. He took Brienne out for a celebratory drink that night, but Jaime only drank water because he had his final competition the next day. He had surprised himself by advancing all the way to the gold medal round, despite using a completely different hand to fence with than in the past. 

“I have a present for you,” he said softly to Brienne. 

“I’m sorry, Jaime, but nothing you could give me could top this beautiful piece of gold around my neck.” Brienne’s joy was contagious, and he could only laugh with her. 

“I know that, for sure, but I think you will like this one too. Come on, I’ll give it to you when we get back to the athletes village.” 

When they approached the door to her room, he pulled a shoebox out of his bag. 

“Shoes, Jaime?”

“No, letters. My letters. I mean your letters. The ones I wrote to you while I was recovering and training my way back to here. My brother Tyrion broke into my father’s office when I asked him to and found them locked in a drawer.”

Brienne took the box from him and just stared at it, not knowing what to say. 

“Look, I wrote a lot of things in there, some of it when I was at my worst. Some of it when I felt you were the only person I could tell things to. I would love if you could read them, tonight. And if you still want to talk to me after everything you read in them...come to my match tomorrow. If not...I...would understand.” 

Brienne saw such anxiety in his eyes, she couldn’t help but wonder what was in those letters. Jaime pulled her in for a hug, and held on longer than he ever had before. “Goodbye, Brienne,” he whispered before leaving her standing in the hallway, staring at the box. 

The first several letters were drunken ramblings - anger about his hand, confessions of childhood sins, including some disturbing stuff about his relationship with his sister in the past. Brienne wasn’t sure she wanted to know all this about Jaime, but felt honored that he trusted her with all this information. 

Soon, the tone of the letters changed. He started talking about fencing, and about their friendship. How much his life had changed after they became friends. He was no longer the boy who made mistakes of the past, but the man who wanted to atone for them. To be worthy of the gold medals he sought, and of her friendship. 

Tears dripped onto the paper as Brienne couldn’t hold them in any longer.  _Oh Jaime_ , she thought,  _I feel the same for you._

 Once she got to the last pile of letters, the tone changed once again. In a way that Brienne hadn’t expected. One letter was all about her eyes. Like two pages, all about what shade of blue he thought they were. 

Another was about her character - how he thought she was everything that was honorable and kind in the world. Brienne went between staring off into space in shock and crying. No one had ever said such nice things about her before, save her father. 

And the last letter. That one she read 10 times before she could even begin to comprehend what it contained. 

It was a love confession. 

Jaime Lannister declared his undying love for Brienne Tarth. She could scarce believe it. And just like that, all those feelings she had long buried came rushing to the surface. Jaime said that he loved her, and the truth was that she had been in love with him for so long. 

And he thought he had mailed this letter and she never responded. Gods, it must have been heartbreaking. Almost as heartbreaking as her thinking the love of her life had blown her off for years. 

They were going to have to work on their communication skills in the future. Smiling, she formulated a plan. 

The next day, she sat in the stands at Jaime’s match, her jacket covering the T-shirt she had painted last night - thanks to borrowing supplies from fans. 

Jaime entered and peered around, when he spotted her, he smiled brighter than she had ever seen, and he instantly relaxed. She waved at him and grinned, indicating that nothing in his letters had her running for the hills. 

Jaime approached his match with confidence in his step - and won! His final Olympics and he was taking home the gold. Brienne took off her jacket during his match, and forgot completely about her shirt until Jaime whooped and looked at her in excitement after his victory and froze. 

She looked down at the words “I love you too” that were painted there, and looked back at him and nodded. 

He whooped again and rushed into the stands. When he reached her he pulled her into his arms. “That win is going to be the second best moment of my life.” 

Brienne pulled out of his arms and quirked an eyebrow at him. “The second?” 

He nodded. “Yes, wench, because this is going to be the first.” And he sealed his words with a kiss. The crowd went wild, and the officials had to come remind him that he was needed on the medal podium. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Drop a comment and let me know what you think.


End file.
